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EF0 tornado in Etowah County, Alabama

Tornado March 14, 2019 · Etowah County, Alabama

EF0
Rating
17.2 mi
Whole path
1,175 yd
Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Blount County → Etowah County → St. Clair County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,175 yards (0.67 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in Etowah County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph.

This tornado is a continuation of a track from Blount County. Most of the damage throughout Etowah County was non-contiguous and primarily affected trees and vegetation. However, minor roof and structural damage was observed along Mountain View Church Road and Mountain Ridge Road. The tornado crossed into St. Clair County just east of Cliff Springs Road.

The wider storm

A widespread severe weather event occurred across central Alabama aduring the afternoon and evening hours on Thursday, March 14th. The event began in the northwest counties and spread eastward all the way to the Georgia state line. A strong low level jet of 40-50 knots, combined with moderate instability (1000-1500 J/kg) and 0-6km bulk shear of 55-50 knots, produced an atmosphere favorable for severe thunderstorms and supercells.

Began near Altoona (33.9398, -86.3682).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

13 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF2 Elmore CountyEF1 Perry CountyEF1 Autauga CountyEF0 Blount CountyEF0 Tuscaloosa CountyEF0 St. Clair CountyEF0 Perry CountyEF0 Calhoun CountyEF0 Marengo CountyEF0 Perry CountyEF0 Chilton CountyEF0 Coosa CountyEF0 Randolph County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 814890. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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